Patient Pathways within the Emergency Medical Care System

The promptness of emergency medical care depends on the overall coordination of the entire patient pathway – from the time a call is taken and a vehicle is dispatched to the work of field teams, air ambulance services, and the intake hospital. Modern communication, data transmission, and telemedicine technologies make it possible to assess patients more quickly, make advance preparations at the receiving medical facility, and make decisions that take into account geographic remoteness, transport accessibility, population density, and regional infrastructure capabilities. What approaches to communication among dispatch services, field teams, air ambulance crews, and hospitals could reduce the overall decision-making time? How can we develop air medical evacuation and telemedicine support in hard-to-reach areas? Which models of mobile medical care help to allocate resources most judiciously without compromising the quality or safety of care?